If Essex town council approves a recommendation from its integrity commissioner, Councillor Randy Voakes will have to give up a month's pay.
Integrity Commissioner Robert Swayze is expected to present the findings of his investigation at Monday night's council meeting after he received six complaints alleging harassment, abusive language and disrespect by and against councillors.
The complaints were filed with the Chief Administrative Officer under the town's Respectful Workplace Policy. Swayze reviewed videos of meetings posted on YouTube, read news articles about council's sometimes raucous meetings and interviewed those involved both in person and over the phone.
Four of the complaints were dismissed. They include two filed by Mayor Ron McDermott against two councillors, Voakes and Larry Snively, alleging disrespect and harassment. Swayze says he found no merit to either complaint.
McDermott's daughter, Pam McDermott filed the other two. The first was against Voakes alleging he verbally abused her after a council meeting last month. Another was filed against Councillor Sherry Bondy after she demanded an apology from McDermott for her behaviour in the public gallery. Swayze also found no merit to those complaints.
Swayze did find merit to complaints filed against Voakes by Manager of Finance and Business Services Jeffrey Morrison, and by Director of Corporate Services Donna Hunter. Both are related to reimbursement for the cost of a dinner Voakes paid for with his personal credit card to honour a local volunteer committee.
Voakes claimed the expense from the town and staff advised him it was contrary to the policy unless the Finance Committee approved it. Even after the committee rejected the expense in open council, Voakes claimed a member verbally approved it during a phone call the night of the dinner. Morrison says he did not and had referred Voakes to Hunter at which point, Swayze's report says Voakes said, "F--- it. I'll do what I want, and if anybody has an issue, they can deal with me."
Hunter says she let Voakes know she couldn't issue a cheque to him before a special council meeting last November, and she testified he said, "Donna, just cut the f---ing cheque."
While Voakes has denied either outburst, in his report Swayze says he doesn't believe him. "The complaint from Ms.Hunter describes other incidents where the councillor's aggressive behaviour creates fear of violence in the workplace."
Swayze also addresses concerns councillors had after a meeting in November when Voakes allegedly yelled at other members and left the meeting slamming the door on his way out. After a confrontation with the Mayor at another council meeting in December, and a verbal clash with an off-duty police officer, "some staff and council members did not want to go alone to their vehicles in the parking lot," says the report.
The report takes both Mayor McDermott and Voakes to task for their behaviour during council meetings.
"The Mayor allows himself to be baited by the Councillor -- Councillor Voakes needs to stop making personal comments to the Mayor and deliberately provoking him in meetings."
Swayze's report also suggests another cause of disruptions is the "constant presence of the Mayor's daughter in the gallery with no business reason to be." Swayze continues, "a solution may be simply that the Mayor speak to his daughter for the good of the town and request her not to attend meetings if she intends to continue goading Councillor Voakes."
Calls to both McDermott and Voakes have not been returned.
